Cliff Diving
by Strangely Tawny
Summary: They're on holiday and Crowley thought it sounded like fun. My first story, so please be kind if you want to R&R!


"For Sa-… for He-… for - oh sod it - for the sake of _my _reputation! Just jump!" Crowley was sitting on a rock below the cliff, shouting at a tentative angel above him.

Aziraphale teetered on the edge, Crowley looked _awfully_ small down there, and the water so cold… still, if he didn't jump now, the demon would never let it go. He leaned forward and saw the other tourists all shouting and gesticulating at him, and then the cursed demon grinned nastily and started to clap his hands and chant "Jump!" over and over again. The other swimmers joined in; they all liked Zira; he was always pleasant, considerate and very obviously gay, but harmless, and they wanted him to conquer his fear and take the plunge.

Aziraphale stepped up to the very edge of the cliff, and swayed, vertigo attacking him viciously. He gulped, closed his eyes and stepped away.

The swimmers saw him step back, and groaned in disappointment. Even Crowley looked put out, he had genuinely wanted the angel to jump, and learn to enjoy himself for once in his bloody life.

When the group had approached the cliff earlier that day, Crowley had been the first one over the edge; he'd taken a running jump at it, in fact, and had executed a perfect swan-dive into the azure waters, leaving barely so much as a ripple. The others had all cheered as he surfaced, spraying water and shaking his dark locks out of his eyes. Then they'd followed suit, with less style and bigger splashes, but they had all jumped. All save Aziraphale, who'd hung back. He'd tanned nicely, and his blond curls were now a pale gold. He'd also lost weight – fruit, fish and lots of physical activity could do that to an angel. Yet he'd been standing on the edge for about ten minutes, wringing his hands desperately, quaking in his pale blue board shorts.

Crowley sat down on his rock, resigned to gloating about it at dinner. He'd hoped that the angel would enjoy the adventure side of Fiji, but obviously that was not –

And then there was a roar from the others, Crowley whipped his head up, and saw Aziraphale launching himself from the cliff. He realised that the angel had taken a running jump, and was going to belly-flop into the sea if he didn't straighten himself out soon.

At the last minute, Aziraphale had thought, _oh so- bug- dash it all_ and turned and ran at full pelt toward the cliff, leaping off. He felt the wind in his hair, and opened his eyes to see the azure water beneath him, growing larger at an alarming speed. He didn't care though, he'd _jumped_. And then he heard a certain demon shouting at him,

"Straighten out you idiot!" ah, yes… that would be sensible. He obediently stretched his long body out into a streamlined position, and hit the water feet first, creating a mini tsunami upon impact. The water shocked him out of his dream-like state, and he kicked his legs. Breaking the surface spluttering and wheezing; he realised that water had gone up his nose. But he heard everyone cheering and looked about to see the people on the rocks waving and laughing, he grinned and swam over to them. But in the midst was a calmly applauding demon, whose pale grey eyes shone strangely as Aziraphale climbed onto a rock, helped by a bunch of people who were all congratulating him.

Crowley couldn't believe that the angel had jumped; it had been like the time Aziraphale had proved to be a natural at sailing back during the 1700s, when they'd gone to the Caribbean. The angel rarely surprised him, but when he did, it was all the more spectacular for it.

...SOMETIME LATER...

"I'll say one thing for Fiji," Crowley remarked round a mouthful of chicken, "it has made me come to appreciate peer pressure and cliff diving a great deal." Aziraphale smiled and rolled his eyes, and took a sip of wine.

They were having dinner on the beach, watching the sunset. They said nothing, they didn't have to – they both agreed that it was a beautiful, crazy rock they were on.


End file.
